14-year-old boy killed in Englewood, 13 others wounded across city

Family photo

Antonio Davis

Antonio Davis (Family photo)

Peter NickeasTribune reporter

A 14-year-old boy was killed and 13 other people were wounded by gunfire across the city Friday night into Saturday morning, including a gang-related shooting near the Lincoln Park Zoo, authorities said.

Antonio Davis, of the 8000 block of South Eberhart Avenue, was found dead with several gunshot wounds in the 7000 block of South Union Avenue in the Englewood neighborhood about 8:40 p.m. Friday, according to the Chicago Fire Department and the medical examiner's office.

The boy was walking with at least one other person when a grey van pulled up and a passenger, a man wearing a dark-colored hoodie, exited with a gun, said police News Affairs Officer Robert Perez.

He opened fire, striking the boy. As he lay on the ground, the shooter kept firing. “He shot him while the victim was down several times,’’ Perez said. The shooter then got back into the van, which was driven by another man about the same age – between the ages of 20 and 25.

Davis' family was pleading for the public's help to apprehend the gunman.

"He was a loving kid, all he liked was basketball. He wanted to go to school to play basketball," the boy's aunt Latrice Strong told WGN-TV.

"We need some justice, we've got to stop this killing."

No one is in custody and a motive for the attack has not been established, Perez said.

No one else was hurt.

In another shooting, a person was wounded in the park north of the Lincoln Park Zoo about 4 a.m. today in an incident that left two others injured from a vehicle that hit them and fled the scene, authorities said.

The three victims were in a group that had been hanging out at the lakefront and were gathered near a bike path off the 2400 block of North Cannon Drive when “several” dark colored vehicles approached, said police News Affairs Officer Robert Perez.

“One vehicle veered off the roadway and struck a 25-year-old man,’’ said Perez. “It then made a u-turn and hit a 21-year-old woman.’’

As the vehicles were fleeing an occupant from one of the vehicles then started firing towards the group, including the injured, and a 26-year-old man was shot Perez said.

All three were seriously wounded, said Perez. The man shot and the woman hit by the car were taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and the other man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Perez said.

The vehicles fled and a source indicated the shooting was gang-related.

Police cordoned off a long stretch of Cannon Drive between Diversey Parkway and Fullerton Parkway in front of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Police from the Town Hall District and Area North detectives scoured the scene for evidence and questioned two people.

A green SUV with its rear hatch opened sat inside the middle of the taped-off area. Police blocked access to Cannon Drive from Fullerton on the south and from south of the five-corner intersection of Cannon, Diversey and Lakeview Avenue.

In other shootings overnight:

-- Two people were wounded about 9:40 p.m. in the 6700 block of South Blackstone Avenue in the Grand Crossing neighborhood, Flynn said. A man described by police as 65 was taken in good-to-fair condition to Jackson Park Hospital and a 21-year-old man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition. The older man was shot in the foot, the younger man was shot in the buttocks.

-- A 22-year-old man person was shot in the right foot in the 6200 block of South Rhodes Avenue in the West Woodlawn neighborhood about 10:30 p.m., Chicago Police News Affairs Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti said.

-- About 11 p.m. in the 1400 block of North Lockwood Avenue, a 17-year-old man was shot in the leg and taken in serious condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, according to Perez. The shooter had dreadlocks and was between the ages of 16 and 19, Perez said.

-- About midnight, an 18-year-old was shot in the leg in the 900 block of North St. Louis Avenue and was stable condition at Mount Sinai Hospital. He was standing outside when someone "approached and fired several shots in the victim's direction," police said in a statement.

-- A few minutes later, a 21-year-old was shot in the 4700 block of West Harrison Street. He walked into West Suburban Hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg but was taken to Stroger Hospital and was stable.

-- Two men in their 20s and a teen were shot in the 7000 block of South Chappel Avenue about 12:15 a.m., police said. A 22-year-old was in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, a 23-year-old man was in critical condition at Stroger Hospital with gunshot wounds to the back, and an 18-year-old was stable at Stroger Hospital with a gunshot wound to the buttocks.

Someone stepped out of a gray vehicle and fired at the trio, then sped south, police said. All three are members of the same gang, police said.

-- Two people were shot on the 5000 block of West Armitage Avenue about 12:30 a.m. One was shot in the back and the other in the arm. Additional details were not available from police.

-- A 19-year-old man was shot in the 11300 block of South Indiana Avenue about 1 a.m. and was in serious condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center, police said. He was walking when someone stepped out of a red vehicle and started talking to him, then pulled a handgun and shooting him.